“Please excuse any painful display of ignorance in this essay, as the subject of foreign policy to me is well… foreign.”- Editor, Tammany-Hall.com
On Monday in Washington, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered the keynote speech at AIPAC (the American Israel Public Affairs Committee), concentrating almost solely on the current standoff with Iran regarding its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Mr. Netanyahu’s speech was a powerful one, contrasting his sharp wit with a serious tone on a situation that is as deadly as any we have seen in the last quarter century. He recognizes he and President Obama face inherent difficulties in this conflict with regards to military action againstIran. Unfortunately for Mr. Netanyahu, these complications are unavoidable and sadly warranted.
One of problems facing PM Netanyahu and President Obama right now is the lasting image of Americans rallying against the “false pretense” used for conducting Operation Iraqi Freedom. At the time when the decision was made to invade Iraq, President Bush was working with extensive intelligence that Saddam Hussein was developing weapons of mass destruction in his country. After the tragedy and horrors of 9/11, this was no longer a possibility theUnited Statescould let go unchecked. As noted by former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, the United States based this information on our own intelligence as well as that of United Nations inspectors who reported Iraq was in the developing stages of these weapons as far back as the early 1990s. President Bill Clinton, upon leaving office noted that something would have to be done about Hussein sooner or later- it apparently was sooner.
When the dust and rubble of invasion settled, it was revealed that the Hussein Regime was not developing such weapons. This left the United States with a nation building project on its hands that it was not prepared to face. Today, despite the late success inIraq, the American public shutters at the images of 2006 Fallujah and now more recently the “die foreigners die” chants of the citizens ofAfghanistan. We are not only unwanted in the Middle East, but our soldiers are depicted as foreign invaders in countries we have tried to rebuild in the (perhaps foolish) hope of spreading democracy. These lands native to religious zealots and Islamist extremists present a danger to our soldiers who are handcuffed to take serious action against them, and are now currently in danger working closely with the very Afghanis we have made our allies.
When we leaveAfghanistan, there is a good chance we will leave it with no lasting political effect, save for the decimation of al-Qaeda. Though that was our initial and most important goal, our mission there grew out of control; spiraling into a hunkered down presence of occupation and nation building, leaving us in the longest conflict in American history. Amazingly, considering the turmoil surrounding Iraq during the Bush years, Iraq will most likely be left in better condition than Afghanistan to move forward on the world at large.
In the wake of the murder, violence and outrage over the “decimation” of Korans, it has become evident that our attempts to transform Afghanistanfrom a terrorist hotbed never had a chance. In actuality, these Korans were technically already ‘decimated’ per Muslim teachings, as messages were written in their pages by Afghani prisoners. These messages were used as communiqués between the prisoners, putting our boys and Afghani soldiers responsible for their detention in danger of inmate reprisal. This is no matter to the Afghani people though as they rage, burn, and murder their way to the perimeter of our bases to display their vociferous protest, leaving any inkling of common sense and human compassion at the door. American citizens see all this through the wonders of a twenty four hour news cycle and the internet, and at this point they are finished with our expeditions in Arab lands.
Which brings us back to Iran. Our military forces have been bogged down in war for a decade, and the amount of blood shed by our brave soldiers in these sand traps of the Stone Age has left the American people defiant of any attempt to save these corrupt countries from themselves. ButIran, Mr. Netanyahu tells us, is different:
“A nuclear-armed Iran would dramatically increase terrorism by giving terrorists a nuclear umbrella. Let me try to explain what that means, a nuclear umbrella. It means that Iran’s terror proxies like Hezbollah, Hamas will be emboldened to attack the United States, Israel, and other countries because they will be backed by a power that has atomic weapons. So the terrorism could grow tenfold. A nuclear-armed Iran could choke off the world’s oil supply and make real its threat to close the Straits of Hormouz… And here’s the worst nightmare of all, with nuclear weapons, Iran could threaten all of us with nuclear terrorism. It could put a nuclear device in a ship heading to any port or in a truck parked in any city, anywhere in the world. I want you to think about what it would mean to have nuclear weapons in the hands of those who lead millions of radicals who chants of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”
Mr. Netanyahu paints a bleak picture, but a seemingly accurate one. A nuclear warhead and the capability to create more in the hands of Iran could easily lead to scenarios described above. The Obama administration has led a valiant effort in their attempts to neutralize the threat by enforcing serious economic sanctions, but Iran remains undeterred. Unfortunately, the cloud of Iraq casts a shadow over the accuracy of our intelligence, leaving the door open for the possibility that Iran is in fact not developing such weapons, and creating doubts about the necessity of a military strike. These reservations are now only compounded by calls from other world powers for the U.S and Israel to continue their diplomatic efforts before considering any military action against Iran.
Regardless, Mr. Netanyahu remains determined to protect his people, the region, and indeed the world from the (dare I say it) domino effect that would be created by a nuclearIran. A strike against Iran’s nuclear sites would be a tactical attack; hopefully with limited loss of life and conducted through a strategy sound enough to marginalize the danger Israeli forces will face in such an operation.
There is another matter as well, highlighted by the Prime Minister later on in his speech:
“Israel’s fate is to continue to be the forward position of freedom in the Middle East. The only place in the Middle East where minorities enjoy full civil rights; the only place in the Middle East where Arabs enjoy full civil rights; the only place in the Middle East where Christians are free to practice their faith; the only place in the Middle East where real judges protect the rule of law. And as Prime Minister of Israel, I will always protect Israel’s democracy – always. I will never allow anything to threaten Israel’s democratic way of life. And most especially, I will never tolerate any discrimination against women.”
In our attempts to rid the Middle East of its dictators and repressive regimes that create the environments which serve as terrorist breeding grounds, we must recognize the importance of Israel described here by Prime Minister Netanyahu. The Middle East is a region of instability and hatred, leaving Israel as the lone shining light in that dark corner of world. Despite our misgivings about military action, we must recognize the long shadow cast over the Middle East by a nuclearIran, and put ourselves in the position of Benjamin Netanyahu and his people. If the Venezuelan dictator and American hate monger Hugo Chavez was determined to develop nuclear weapons, would we not be inclined to act to protect our country? And as noted by the Prime Minister, that is a conceivable outcome if Iran is to develop the technology for a smart bomb.
Looking up, we now see that the clock is ticking. If Israel chooses to move forward with military action against Iran’s nuclear sites then the United States must stand shoulder to shoulder with her in the aftermath; we must hammer Iran with sanctions after the strike, not only to cripple their nuclear ambitions, but to display an enduring alliance of dedication and resolve with Israel against the all too familiar face of terror in that part of the world.
– John P. Burns
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